TATuP “Theory of TA reloaded”

How should TA position itself as a research program that also provides policy advice? Issue 1/2018 of the Journal of Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice wants to give new impetus to the debate on theory formation.
TATuP 1/2018 Theorie der TA reloaded
TATuP 1/2018 „Theory of TA reloaded“

Approximately 10 years ago, there was a brief flare-up of a debate about a theory of TA. Soon afterwards, it became quiet again; an intensification or even a further development of the knowledge-, action-, and policy-related approaches regarding the development of a theory did not take place. Nevertheless, the question of positioning TA as research and advice program rather gained than lost virulence: Simply think of the uncertainties regarding the status of knowledge, especially in times of so-called “alternative facts” or the numerous voices which call for a TA that is more committed to societal debates. One decade later, TATuP revives the theory question. Guest editor of the SPECIAL TOPIC are Stefan Böschen (RWTH Aachen) and Ulrich Dewald (GEFAK Marburg).

Apart from news from the European TA community, the first issue in 2018 also features an extensive interview with Benoît Godin. The professor who is based in Montreal, Canada, focuses his research on the historic roots of the discourse on innovation and the changing concept of innovation. The section REFLECTIONS does not only offer current reviews and conference reports, but also includes, among others, a plea for movies as a possible source for the analysis of socio-technical visions of the future.

Since summer 2017, TATuP is published as a peer-reviewed open-source journal. All content is freely accessible and since recently also listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). (03.04.2018)

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